Brooder in the coop...?

[MountainFarmPeeps]

I love the idea of a brooder pen in the coop...my questions:

1. If you do this, how does it work out for you? Any tips?

2. If you do not have a brooder pen in the coop for a reason, what is that reason?

and 3....PICTURES! I would love to see pictures of how you incorporated your brooder pen into the coop!

Thank you very much!

 

[patandchickens]

I brood chicks in the "coop" but it is such a large building that I have plenty of room for separate brooder pens.

In principle, many feel it is better not to brood chicks in the same bldg as adult chickens b/c of potential disease issues (chicks having less-developed immune systems and being more vulnerable to things that may not be harming your adult chickens), but my feeling is that if there is going to be a problem I'd rather a) know about it and b) weed out the susceptible ones.

Pat

 

[big medicine]

I built a permanent three level brooder against a wall of my coop years ago and have been very happy with it. It is roughly 2ft deep, 8ft long, and 5 1/2ft tall. The bottom of the three levels uses the cement floor of the coop as its base. Each level has a removable center divider that allows it to become six seperate 2' by 4' compartments. Each of these compartments has a light with a metal reflecter suspended from a chain that will allow a standard 100 watt bulb to provide heat enough for day old chicks in cool sping weather, there is a hook that allows you to shorten the chain, raising the light as the chicks grow. The front of each section are double doors that latch in the center. I start chicks in the top section, moving them down as age and new hatches dictate. Evetually they get to the bottom level, when they are fairly feathered out I open the doors , allowing them the run of that section of the coop, but can still get under a light for cool nights. My coop is 12' by 32' that can be divided into three sections for breeding pens. By the time my oldest chicks are old enough to get out of the brooder, I am about done keeping eggs, allowing me to give that pen to the chicks.

A few years back I started vaccinateing for Marek's, which requires newly hatched and vaccinated chicks to be kept away from the old birds for the first two weeks. I built a smaller free standing version that I keep in the basement, untill they can go out to the coop.

Sorry, don't have photos (would have to delete shots that I have in other threads to make room)

 

[chickens friend]

My brooder is installed in my coop underneath the roost bars. The brooder is 12' long, 3' wide, and 2' tall at the lowest point; the brooders roof is two pieces of 1/2 plywood angled that catch the droppings from the roost, which is very easy to clean by just taking a flat bladed shovel and going up the plywood. I have attached a outside run that is 2' tall, 2' wide, and 12' long for daytime exercise. The floor of the brooder is made of individual wooden boards that I take out and clean, and on top of the boards is frames of mesh wire that let the droppings go thru, and keep the chicks suspended. Most people advise against raising chicks with older chickens because of illness problems, but the only thing that separates the chicks from the older chickens is the 1/2 ply wood on top, and 1/4" mesh wire in the front. I like to raise the chicks this way because I believe they receive natural immunity from anything that the bigger chickens might be carrying. I have raised chicks this way for several years now and have lost maybe 3 in the last five years. I don't have anyway of showing you pictures, but If you have any more questions I will be happy to answer them. Hope this helps

 

[MountainFarmPeeps]

Thanks so much you guys....I think I'm going to do it, I'm going to build a double decker brooder. It just makes the most sense to me. I think I will probably keep my chicks in a brooder box (a simple set up, box and lamp style) inside for the first maybe week...and after that will move them to the outside (in coop) brooder. During the cold months, I'll probably have to keep them inside until they are a few weeks old, it just gets too cold here!

As far as disease goes...my feeling is, if I've got a chick that gets sick, I'd probably cull anyhow...if I end up with lots of sick chicks, perhaps I'll rethink the in-coop-brooder...but if it's a sick chick every once in a great while..I'll chock it up to a "weak link" and cull. (Wow, that sounded really harsh and callous...but I'm serious about running as tight a breeding program as possible with my White Dorkings...I really want a flock of strong, healthy birds that lay good eggs and taste delicious!)

Thanks again for your help...I'd still love to see some pictures just for ideas...but I really appreciate the advice and shared knowledge!